Tensioning device for wire-fabric machines.



A- C. MILLS.

TENSIONINB DEVICE FOR WIRE FABRIC MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.II.1917.

A. C. MILLS.

TENSIONING DEVICE FOR WIRE FABRIC MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED ]AN.1I. 1917.

1,282,909. Patented Oct. 29, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- TTED %TATE% PATENT FFTCJFM ANSON C. MILLS, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO JACKSON FENCE COMPANY, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

TENSIONING DEVICE FOR WIRE-FABRIC MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patnted Ugh 29 1918.

Application filed January 11, 1917. Serial No. 141,902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANsoN C. MILLS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tensioning Devices for lVire-FabricMachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the wire industry, and has particular reference to a novel ten sioning device for use in connection with wire fabric machines.

In many branches of the wire industry, and particularly in the formation of wire fabric for fences, concrete reinforcement, etc., it is necessary to employ a tensioning device, to the end that the tension of all the wires in the fabric shall be the. same. This has'heretofore been accomplished by the use of separate wheels-around which the various line wires were led, the wires being usually given a single turn around the wheels, and being held against slipping by means of spring clamps adjusted to grasp the wire as it entered upon the wheel, cams being used to positively retract the clamps and release the wire at the proper point. This mechanism has heretofore been somewhat complicated in construction and it is to the improve ment thereof that the present invention relates. In the device shown in the drawings the clamping mechanism is of very simple form, all of the line or strand wires being held on the drum by a single clamping mechanism which is actuated by a simple cam and lever. Three series of such clamping devices are provided on the periphery of the drum and all of the clamps of a single series are actuatable in unison by a single mechanism.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical section through a tensioning device such as is contemplated by Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the drum partly in section, the view being taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an'end elevation of the drum showing the means for operating the clamp controlling cam;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail showing the means which I prefer to employ for compensating for the omission of oneor more wires in the series, and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 4. Referring more particularly to the drawmgs, 1t will be seen that on a shaft 10, mounted in suitable bearings, are keyed the spiders 11, 12. To the spiders is secured a cylinder having longitudinal grooves l i m 1ts periphery, three of such grooves being shown in spaced relation on the cylinder. Within the deeper portion of the groove is mounted the base of the wire clamps or jaws 15. These clamping members are provided with flanges 16 at their base portion, strips or caps 17, which are mounted in the shallower portion of the groove 14 overlying the flanges 16 and preventing the removal of the clamp. The arrangement is such that the clamps or jaws are freely slidable longitudinally in the grooves in the cylinder and provision is made for suiiicient of these clamps to accommodate the required number of line wires in the fabric to be woven, the wires being accommodated between adjacent clamps, as best shown in Fig. 1.

As an end stop I prefer to provide an arm 18 on the cylinder, this arm projecting upwardly into the plane of the jaws or clamps. Mounted within a threaded opening in the arm is a cap bolt 19 held in adjusted position by a lock nut 20, the head of the cap bolt contacting the extreme clamp in the series. The means for clamping the members 15, as best shown in Fig. 1, consist of an arm or lever 21, pivoted at 22 to a portion 23 of the cylinder, the short arm 24- of the member 21 contacting the adjacent clamping member. On the longer arm of the part 21 is mounted a frusto conical roller 25, which roller cooperates with a disk 26 having a face 27 beveled to correspond to the roller 25. An interruption 28 in the surface 27 of the disk provides for releasing the clamping pressure inserted by the arm 21 on the wire-holding jaws, the disk remaining in stationary position, except as hereinafter noted. The disk is mounted on a sleeve 29. and to a reduced portion 30 of the sleeve is secured a hand wheel 31 which is provided near its outer diameter with a pin 32. This pin cooperates with a notch in a latch 33 pivoted at 3% to a portion of the frame of the machine. It is always desirable in the case of breakage of a strand wire to release such wire from the tensioning device in order to secure sufficient slack for splicing. This is accom plished by stopping the rotation of the cylinder and of the fabric machine, releasing the hand wheel, then rotating the same together with the cam disk, thereby bringing the reduced portion 28 of the disk into cooperation with the respective rollers 25 which control the clamping devices and successively removing the broken wire from engagement with the clamp. I

At times a fabric is constructed which does not require the use of the maximum number of strand wires provided for in a tensioning device. a filler, such as is shown in Figsd and5, which may consist in a piece of metal 35, bent into angular form, one of the legs of the angle being of a thickness corresponding substantially to that of the wires employed. The other leg of the angle may be secured by a screw 36 to one of the clamp ing members. An advantage in the use of a device such as disclosed is in its simplicity and small initial cost. Furthermore, the cost of maintenance is slight, due to the fact that the number of parts is reduced to a minimum and the moving parts are readily removed and replaced with small cost. While I have describedbut one of the series of clamping devices whichI provide on the periphery of the drum, it will be understood that the others are dupli, catd and may be increased or diminished in number as desired. Furthermore, it is obvious that modifications may be made in the construction shown without departure from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a drum, a plurality of independent, longitudinally slidable blocks carried by said drum and between which blocks the wires to be tensioned are adapted to he held, a lever bodily movablewith said drum and pivotedthereon, one arm of said lever contacting. an extreme block, the other end of said lever carrying an anti-friction roll, a normally stationary cam with which said friction element cooperates, and manually operable means for rotatin said cam as required to release said blocks, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a drum having a plurality of grooves in its periphery, said grooves eX- tending longitudinally of the drum, and a plurality of independent longitudinally slidable blocks mounted in saidgroove and arranged to provide a space th'crcbetween for theaccommodation of wires, a rigid stop at one end of said drum against which-said blocks may abut, a lever pivoted intermediate its end to said drum, one end of said lever acting upon an extreme block, an anti-.

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In that case I providetween said block and the entrance of wires at another point in the rotation of said drum, and manually operable'means for rotating said cam independent of said drum, whereby said wires maybe releasedat points other than the point at which the wires are normally released in the operation of the drum, substantially as described.

3; In a device of the class described, the combination of a drum having a plurality of longitudinal grooves in its periphery, a plurality of independent, longitudinally slidable ,blocks mounted in said groove, levers mounted on said drum and contacting the end block in each series, a single cam for actuatingall of said levers, said cam having an interruption whereby said blocks are sequentially released from clamping engagement with said wires, means for shifting said cam independently of the rotation of the drum, whereby said block may be releascdjand a wire removed from engagement therewith during the idleness of the drum,

substantially as described. a y

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a drum having a plurality of longitudinal grooves in the surface thereof. afplurality of independent longitudinally slidable blocks mounted in said grooves and providing a space between adjacent blocks "for the accommodation of wires, automatic means for clamping and unclamping said block to release andclamp said wires; and means for filling the space between adjacent blocks when a wire is not applied thereto, substantially as described.

5; In a device of the class described, the combination of a drum having a plurality of longitudinal grooves in the surfacethere of, a plurality of independent longitudinally slidable blocks mounted in said grooves and providing a space between adjacentblocks for the accommodation of wires, automatic means. for clamping and unclamping said block to release and clamp said wires, said clamping means being constructed torigidly hold the wires without spring resistance, and means for filling the space between adjacent blocks when a wire is not applied thereto, substantiallyas described.

Signed at Chicago. -llli11ois,this 12th day or December, A. D. 1916.

ANSON o, MILLS.

Witnesses:

C. F. MURRAY, H. C. JACOBS.

addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

